Points Complexity Reference
Full transparency on how Webera scopes DevOps work using our points system
Who this is for: Existing and prospective clients
Most agencies hide how they price work. We publish it.
This reference document explains exactly how we scope and estimate DevOps work using our points system. No hidden costs, no surprises.
Why Points Instead of Hours?
Traditional hourly billing creates misaligned incentives:
- For the agency: More hours = more revenue (incentive to be slow)
- For the client: Fewer hours = lower cost (incentive to cut corners)
Points flip this dynamic:
- For Webera: Faster delivery = more capacity = more value we can deliver
- For you: Fixed scope = predictable costs = focus on outcomes
Points are guidance, not hard caps. If a 3-point task takes us 10 hours instead of 6, we absorb the overrun. You pay for outcomes, not effort.
The Points Scale
| Points | Scope | Typical Time | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Config change | < 1 hour | DNS record update |
| 2 | Single service | 2-4 hours | Fix CI/CD pipeline |
| 3 | Multi-service | 4-8 hours | New CI/CD pipeline |
| 5 | Cross-system | 1-2 days | Multi-environment setup |
| 8 | Architecture | 3-5 days | Platform redesign |
1 Point: Config Changes
Scope: Single, isolated configuration change
What qualifies:
- DNS record update (A, CNAME, MX, TXT)
- Environment variable change
- IAM permission adjustment
- SSL certificate renewal
- Add user to access group
- Update CloudFront cache behavior
- Simple security group rule change
What’s NOT 1 point:
- DNS migration (multiple records) → 2-3 points
- New domain setup with SSL → 2 points
- Bulk IAM changes → 2+ points
2 Points: Single Service
Scope: Work on one service or component
What qualifies:
- Fix broken CI/CD pipeline
- Set up new monitoring alert
- Add custom domain to application
- Configure log retention policy
- Create new S3 bucket with proper policies
- Set up basic auto-scaling
- Implement a new secret in secrets manager
- Update a single Terraform module
What’s NOT 2 points:
- Multi-environment CI/CD → 3 points
- Full monitoring stack setup → 3-5 points
- Complex auto-scaling with custom metrics → 3 points
3 Points: Multi-Service
Scope: Coordinated changes across multiple services
What qualifies:
- New CI/CD pipeline (build, test, deploy)
- Deploy new application to existing infrastructure
- Security scan implementation
- Set up staging environment (if base exists)
- Database backup automation
- Implement secrets rotation
- Add new microservice to existing cluster
- Implement structured logging across services
What’s NOT 3 points:
- Full new environment from scratch → 5 points
- Complete security overhaul → 5-8 points
- New Kubernetes namespace with full config → 5 points
5 Points: Cross-System
Scope: Major work spanning multiple systems or environments
What qualifies:
- Multi-environment setup (dev + staging + prod)
- Disaster recovery implementation
- VPN setup with multiple connections
- Complete logging infrastructure
- Kubernetes namespace with full config
- Database migration with zero downtime
- Full observability stack for a service
- Container migration for a single application
What’s NOT 5 points:
- Full cloud migration → 8+ points
- Complete platform redesign → 8+ points
- Multi-region deployment → 8 points
8 Points: Architecture
Scope: Significant architectural work
What qualifies:
- Cloud migration (single workload)
- Platform redesign (CI/CD overhaul)
- Kubernetes cluster setup
- Multi-region deployment
- SOC 2 infrastructure preparation
- Complete observability stack (multiple services)
- Service mesh implementation
- Major security hardening initiative
What’s NOT 8 points:
- Full organizational cloud migration → Project scope
- Complete greenfield platform → Project scope
- Multi-cloud architecture → Project scope
How We Estimate
Every estimate follows this process:
- Scope definition — What exactly needs to change?
- Blast radius — How many systems are affected?
- Risk assessment — What could go wrong?
- Documentation — What needs to be documented?
- Testing — What verification is needed?
The points assignment considers all of these factors, not just implementation time.
What’s Included in Every Point
Regardless of point value, every task includes:
- Implementation — The actual work
- Testing/verification — We confirm it works
- Basic documentation — What was done and why
- Runbook — For 3+ point tasks, operational procedures
- Post-implementation monitoring — 24-48 hours of verification
What’s NOT Included
These situations are scoped separately:
- Extended debugging of pre-existing issues — If we discover deeper problems, we discuss scope
- Third-party vendor coordination delays — Waiting on AWS support doesn’t count against SLA
- Client approval wait times — Clock pauses when waiting for your review
- Scope changes mid-task — New requirements = new points
Real Examples From Our Work
Example 1: “Fix our broken deploys”
Initial request: Vague Discovery: GitHub Actions failing due to secrets issue Actual work: Update secrets, fix workflow, test Points assigned: 2 (single service fix)
Example 2: “Set up monitoring”
Initial request: Broad Discovery: Need Prometheus, Grafana, basic alerts Actual work: Deploy stack, configure dashboards, set alerts Points assigned: 5 (cross-system, new infrastructure)
Example 3: “We need to be SOC 2 compliant”
Initial request: Huge scope Discovery: 60% of infra work already done, need logging, access controls, encryption Actual work: Gap analysis, implementation plan, execution Points assigned: 8 (architecture level) + ongoing maintenance
Points FAQ
What if a task takes longer than expected?
We absorb the overrun. Points are fixed once assigned. If we estimated 3 points and it takes twice as long, that’s our problem, not yours.
What if I disagree with the point estimate?
We discuss scope. Often disagreement means we’re solving different problems. Either we clarify and adjust, or we break the work into smaller pieces.
Do points expire?
No expiration, but they don’t roll over monthly. Each month is fresh capacity based on your plan.
Can I save points by doing prep work?
Sometimes. Clear documentation, access ready, and well-defined scope help us work faster. But the point system already accounts for typical overhead.
What if I need more points than my plan includes?
Options:
- Prioritize and defer lower-priority work
- Purchase additional points at the plan rate
- Upgrade to a higher plan for more monthly capacity
How do I know how many points I need?
Book a discovery call. We’ll assess your infrastructure and give you a realistic estimate of monthly point needs.
Why We Publish This
Most agencies keep their pricing opaque. We don’t.
- Trust through transparency — You know exactly what you’re paying for
- Better conversations — We can discuss scope in concrete terms
- Aligned expectations — No surprise bills or scope disputes
We only make money if we automate your problems away. Hidden costs don’t help anyone.
Next Steps
Not sure how many points you need?
Book a discovery call and we’ll assess your infrastructure together.
Or view our pricing tiers to see monthly point allocations.
Ready to accelerate your infrastructure?
Our team of senior engineers + AI agents can implement these practices in days, not months.
Book a Discovery Call